Australian scientists build banana-powered electricity gene

Australian scientists build banana-powered electricity generator



SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian scientists have created an electricity generator fuelled by decomposing bananas and are working on plans for a full-scale, fruit-fired power station.

University of Queensland engineering lecturer Bill Clarke said he hit upon the unusual power source when the Australian Banana Growers Association approached him, looking for ways to make use of vast quantities of waste bananas.

"In North Queensland, bananas are abundantly available and could be a great source of renewable energy," Clarke told AFP.

About one-third of tropical Queensland's banana crop, more than 20,000 tonnes a year, never makes it to the shops because they are bruised or too small.

Normally they are left to rot on the ground but Clarke said this damaged the soil and wasted a potentially useful resource.

He has successfully used bananas to generate electricity in the laboratory and is assessing whether a power plant could be commercially viable.

Clarke lets the bananas decompose in sealed vats and uses the methane from the rotting fruit to power an electricity turbine.

"However, we dont know is if bananas are a cost-effective energy source, so my research parameters are designed to discover how long it will take to convert the bananas to methane and how much methane is produced," he said.

This involves mashing, pulping and shredding the waste bananas to find the most efficient way to make them decompose, as well as adding enzymes to speed up the process.

Clarke said he would know by February next year whether bananas were a viable energy source. If they are, the banana industry will consider building a banana-fuelled power plant capable of powering about 500 homes.

Clarke said electricity generated at the plant would be sold to the national grid, providing banana growers with a source of income from what was normally regarded as a waste product.

However, he said the technology's application was limited as it took 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of bananas to power a household appliance such as a fan heater for 30 hours.